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Trials & Litigation

Kirkland partner can’t present argument or evidence because he ‘crossed the lines’ of court orders, judge says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

October 31, 2024, 8:45 am CDT

A Missouri judge has sanctioned a Kirkland & Ellis partner after finding the lawyer “acted in bad faith on several occasions” and tried to inflame the jury during a civil trial targeting the makers of baby formula.

As a sanction, Kirkland partner James F. Hurst can’t argue about or object to evidence, and he can’t question witnesses, said Judge Michael Noble of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri in an Oct. 24 order.

Law.com and Bloomberg Law have coverage.

Noble said it appeared that Hurst was trying to elicit a mistrial when he “either attempted to violate or overtly crossed the lines of the court’s orders related to evidence and arguments before the jury.” In one recent direct examination, Noble said, Hurst “specifically admitted on the record to eliciting testimony and introducing evidence to intentionally inflame and prejudice the jury” in a manner banned by the court.

Hurst is defending Abbott Laboratories in a lawsuit filed by plaintiff Elizabeth Whitfield, who alleges that her baby developed an intestinal illness called necrotizing enterocolitis and suffered brain damage from drinking formula made by Abbott Laboratories. A second formula company, Mead Johnson, and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital are also defendants.

Whitfield’s lawyer, Tim Cronin, has argued that the makers of the formula didn’t disclose the full risk that their product poses for premature babies, according to past coverage by Reuters. Hurst has argued that the formula doesn’t cause necrotizing enterocolitis but that a mother’s breast milk protects against the illness.

Nearly a thousand cases similar to Whitfield’s suit are pending, according to Reuters. One case resulted in a $495 million verdict against Abbott Laboratories. In another, Mead Johnson was found liable for $60 million.

Bloomberg Law described Hurst as “a star litigator,” while Law.com said he is regularly featured in the Litigation Daily’s Litigators of the Week column.

A Kirkland spokesperson told Law.com and Bloomberg Law that Hurst is “a world-class trial lawyer” who “has successfully led cases for 30 years in jurisdictions around the country with supreme professionalism. His impeccable trial record speaks for itself.”

An Abbott Laboratories spokesperson told Law.com and Bloomberg Law that Hurst “is a terrific trial lawyer and has acted professionally, ethically and in good faith throughout the case.”